My Wix website

[FaithfulScenter]

I looked into godaddy, that is actually the first one I tried, then intuit, then wix. I am having a hard time figuring out how the whole cart thing works, and it's not free, it's going to cost $10+ a month, from what I can see, and I'm not sure how the whole domain thing works either. I'm still a bit lost

ETA: Does godaddy have a site builder?

Edited November 9, 2012 by FaithfulScenter

[EccoLights]

Some helpful links, tips, etc:

GoDaddy hosting:

http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/web-hosting.aspx?ci=76393

All you need to run a site (unless your Groupon, Amazon, Ebay or get a TON of traffic to your site, and a TON I mean thousands - ten's of thousands a DAY is the Economy Hosting. Do NOT get the Windows hosting tho... Linux is the way to go with hosting to keep your site running fast!

Cost: $4.99 - $5.99/month - you can even use some coupons to get this even lower.

***Note on hosting: You DO NOT have to use GoDaddy, I just mention & recommend them since they are one of the most "known". By all means tho, shop around and get what works for you. HostGator is another good one too.

As for the shopping carts to use:

Again, this is all personal prefference....

ZenCart: http://www.zen-cart.com

=Free unless you buy a premium template or other add-ons (which really are not needed unless you need something special)

OpenCart: http://www.opencart.com/

=Same deal, Free but you can upgrade if needed to other add-ons, etc.

NopCommerce: http://www.nopcommerce.com/default.aspx

=Not as well supported as say ZenCart is, but it shows lots of promise down the road. And yes, it's FREE.

Another reason I mentioned GoDaddy before, is once you have your hosting set up, ZenCart can be installed with a click of a button... All you do from there is fill in some blanks, set up your payment method, shipping and add your products.... You can go deeper into it if wanted and do some design work to the HTML/CSS coding but again, out of the box it's ready to go.

I think GoDaddy also has a "one-click" install for OpenCart as well but I never did ours that way. I have used NopCommerce in the past and loved it... the only down side is it's the "new kid on the block" so the support isn't there.

To answer the question about GoDaddy having a site builder... Yes they do... but no you do not need it! To me, it's a waste of money... GoDaddy even has a "cart" option, but then your paying depending on how many items are in your shop.... Back to ZenCart, you pay nothing more if you have a bizillion items... it's still FREE

**DOMAIN: Yes you will need to have a domain name to host your site on... GD sells them as low as $3.99 - $12.99... or you can even get the domain elsewhere too.

Just to add, I talk alot about GoDaddy here, and for me it works... 24/7 phone support and I've never been waiting to speak to someone more than 5 minutes... Well worth it IMO

Edited November 10, 2012 by EccoLights